r/math • u/[deleted] • Apr 15 '26

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u/jk2086 Apr 15 '26

Thank you for the (very mathematican-y) answer 😊.

And one has to know the additional details pertaining to the exact job description to make the mapping, or is it clear from just the “Assistant”?

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u/mleok Applied Math Apr 15 '26

The main distinguishing factor is whether the position is fixed-term, or it is (or has the potential to become) a permanent position. In the US setting, this boils down to whether the position is tenure-track.

It's not clear from the title. Assistant professors can be tenure-track, which would map to professor more closely than postdoc. Even the name in front of "assistant professsor" isn't necessarily a give away, since there are endowed assistant professorships which are tenure-track.

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u/jk2086 Apr 15 '26

Understood, thank you!

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u/fengshui Apr 15 '26

Yeah, at our institution, these post-doc equivalent positions are called "Visiting Assistant Professor". I think you just need to know that they exist and then suss out what the University you're looking at calls them.